STL ice storm...one fish lost, more going fast

[LandGhoti]

Since the power has been out from our ice storm, I've been staying at a friend's but have been going home several times a day (5 min away, thankfully) to feed and check on the cats (my friend is deadly allergic or they would be here too) and see what's going on with my tank. Tonight I had a bad, bad feeling. In my apartment, you can see your breath now. Cats were OK, but hungry. When I pulled the towels and blanket back from the tank, I found one julii cory dead on the gravel, and my biggest and most colorful clown loach (Papa Loach) sideways in a corner, barely alive. One other smaller loach was up swimming around, but soon wedged himself in a corner by the thermometer. Tank temp is 56 degrees. I scanned the rest of the tank with a flashlight and didn't find anyone, but they are all feared dead or on their way out. Just this afternoon when I checked on them, all except one were swimming around and accounted for; tank was 60 degrees. The people across the street have power. I'm sure mine will be off until Monday at best. Absolutely infuriating.

Even though I know it's not my fault and there's really nothing I can do, I feel terrible.

 

[ReefRaff]

I might consider renting a generator, if there are any available, and if funds permit. I am praying your power comes back for you.

 

[roka64]

Ack! Good luck, definitely check into a generator.

 

[flyjawn]

i'm so sorry.... my friends is in STL and she's had to put her cats in a "hotel" while they stay at their inlaws house. you must feel so frustrated.

 

[LandGhoti]

Update: Lost all my fish

My cats are OK, just not used to the cold. This morning when I went home to feed them, I checked the tank, and everyone is dead. I just got my tank going little more than 3 months ago and now will have to start all over again. The power is still out, although there were several electric trucks (from a company in North Carolina) sitting on the outskirts of my neighborhood waiting for instructions. You know things are bad when a company from halfway across the friggin' country has to come in to fix your power. It had better be back on by tonight.

I guess I'll have to look in to getting a generator for *the next time* this happens.

 

[roka64]

Aww, that is terrible!

 

[plecoperson]

Again, to everyone who has had losses due to this storm, I am so, so sorry.

Sometimes it's hard to find support over loss of "just fish" when there's a disaster like this, but there are a lot of people here who empathize with you and understand.

Here's to power in a hurry, and to rebuilding your tank when you're ready.

 

[LandGhoti]

Thanks Lisa.

My power is finally back on, although I am still away from my apartment and letting it heat back up. It was at or below freezing last night I'm sure, as I could see my breath.

I will eventually rebuild my tank and repopulate. It's really a bummer. I cried last night when I saw my last two fish still barely alive. You know, I would've rather seen them already gone than living their last. Anyway, I'm thinking about what I will do next and am thankful I took pics of everyone, even if my camera isn't the greatest.

Coolio the polkadot loach is my avatar. I think he is holed up in my driftwood because I have yet to "find" him.

Anyway, thanks for the thoughts. I think losing anything you take care of is hard. Here's a pic from awhile ago of my rummynoses following one of my loaches.

 

[lovemybarbs]

Sorry. That's sad to hear.

I thought all I would have left is the pleco, but they all made it 18 hours. Well, all but the shrimp.

 

[hc8719]

really sorry about that, i was gonna say boil some water (over a fire even) and throw in some of those heat packs, or add some hot water every couple of hours

 

[happygirl65]

That is really rough. I am sorry for your loss. It makes me think about mine too, we have power outages at times. Thankfully we heat with wood but the living room is farther away from the furnace and the fan wont run without power, so I am seriously thinking about a generator. Or propane heater.

Deeply sorry for your loss. It was out of your control.

 

[kansei]

I'm sorry to hear about the losses. I have thought about getting a UPS like for a computer as emergency backup for power outages - should allow for a bear minimum of heat and cycling of the filter every couple of hours . My friend is an electrician and he is going to see just how much power I'll need to run the heater and filter (Fluval405) to get the right size UPS . we have a couple of outages a year .

 

[dsmalls]

Ack, that sucks. A year or so ago, we had a 3 day outage and I, luckily, moved my fish to my parent's house. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I moved them, the next day the power came on.

 

[jamesrm]

A UPS would not do any good unfortuantely. Even just running a heater, the largest ones would only last about 8 hours or so. A pump would likely kill the UPS. They are not designed for running small motors. I am pretty up on this topic, I was a "double agent" with the Geek squad for a few years.

Your best option is an emergancy generator. I wired my fuse box to basically plug right into my generator incase of power failures for just such a reason.